<p>I'm a 16 year old female from East Lansing, Michigan. It's a little early to be thinking about colleges but I fell in love with USC about a year ago and I am very interested in the ROTC program there. I am not worried about being accepted to USC as long as I stay on track with how I'm doing currently, but I am worried about the price especially because I am out of state. I have heard great things about the ROTC program and I am very interested in serving my country, and if they also pay for my education thats just icing on the cake. </p>
<p>So I guess my questions are ; how good is the program at USC, and what should I expect in terms of training and meetings. Also, how it may positivley and negatively affect my life as a student and how ROTC pays for schooling? Any other tips?
Thanks in advance and fight on! :)</p>
<p>ROTC scholarships are hard to get, in general. They are competitive academically, and require a military physical/medical clearance, and a physical fitness test. Lots of meetings, and required military science classes. There are more spots for engineers than art majors. They tell you what to do in the summer. There’s a four year active duty service commitment. If you’re serious about a military career, apply to several schools, because each school has a limited number of ROTC spots. Check out the service academy forums for more details.</p>
<p>Army ROTC allows you to major in almost anything. Navy and Air Force definitely prefer engineers and most of their scholarships go to engineering majors.</p>
<p>Both Army and Navy scholarships pay full tuition to whatever college you attend. Only 5% of Air Force scholarships pay full tuition at private schools like USC. Air Force will pay full in-state tuition for state universities.</p>
<p>If you do not get a scholarship, but simply enroll in ROTC, then you can major in whatever you want. Then, for your junior and senior years you will receive a stipend of about $400 per month (not a big help, but nice to have).</p>
<p>I do not know any specifics about ROTC at USC, but normally you wear your uniform once a week, attend ROTC class three times a week and engage in physical fitness training three times a week.</p>
<p>I was recruited for Air Force ROTC. And took all the tests (passed). In the end, I declined and accepted a college based scholarship but being in high school ROTC (not offered at my high school) wasn’t required. Maybe things have changed. But yes - very competitive and a good friend Navy ROTC it and it was physically demanding. So not something to take lightly. Very worthwhile, but not an easy way to pay for college because of the extra requirements during the week.</p>